Alchemist Lance Winters turns alcohol into high art

This article was taken from the November 2011 issue of Wired
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When alchemists invented distilling, they were trying to extract
the essential "spirits" that lived within all matter. Alcohol was just a happy accident. Today, Lance Winters, the
distiller at St George
Spirits in Alameda, California, is still experimenting with the
essences of life, but now in pursuit of booze.

Winters makes familiar tipples -- vodka, rum, brandy, gin and bourbon -- which he ages on racks
in his distillery, a former aircraft hangar. But this alchemical
adventurist really shines in his work with OPENrestaurant, a San
Francisco art/activist/foodie group that hosts pop-up dinners. For
those, he fires up two lab-sized stills -- mini versions of the
giant copper ones he normally uses -- to make eaux-de-vie,
or unaged spirits, out of the most unlikely ingredients. Mint was
the least unusual; from there he tried seaweed, mushroom, crab and
even foie gras.

What's astonishing is that Winters's creations taste fantastic.
The crab is like visiting a fishing dock; the seaweed is like
getting hit by a wave. It's a process that requires some pretty
arcane knowledge. "I've learned more about distilling from old
perfume books than from distilling books," he says. So what is his
next concoction? "If I can get enough sandalwood, I'll do that," he
says. "I want to move in a savoury direction, something that smells
and tastes like leather."

A selection of Winters's other unorthodox distilling
ingredients

Douglas fir
"Bay laurel, sage and douglas fir were all distilled individually
and then blended to contribute the aromas of our coastal forests to
our Terroir gin distillation," says Winters.

Carrot
"A sweet, grassy, earthy eau-de-vie that smells and tastes of
carrots. The main reason we do 'strange' distillates is to explore
distillation as an art form, rather than pursue the commercially
viable."

Cacao nibs
"These are as rich and chocolatey as you'd expect. Sometimes we
discover something that could sell, more often we're just inspired
by a pure love for ingredients and the way they smell."